Door tensioning and venting device



April 17, 1955 L. A. RAsMUssl-:N

DOOR TENSION-ING AND VENTING DEVICE Filed Deo. l, 1950 llvllllilllllllll rJflu-Jlffff..

INVENTOR. un/12 ALVIN'RASMUSSEN ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent JDOQR TENSIONING AND VEN'HN G DEVICE Luthei-lvu Rasmussen, Greenvilie, Mich., assigner to GibsomRefrgerator Company, Greenriiie, Mich., a

corporation' of Michigan ApplicatiouDecember 1, 1950, Serial No. '198,626

4 Claims. (Ci. 20-38) v'IS-liisxinvention relates tov a door tensioning andventingV device, and is particularly useful in connection'with a refrigeratorfdoor and the like.

f In a refrigerator door of the so-called full covering typefthe door isv usually formed with a generally re'ctangularpconcave-convex door pan composed of relativelyexible 'metal ori material and stiiening means is employed Within. the .pan' for connecting. corner portions ofi the door. Such means usually consistsor" one or. more tie members joiningthe door portions and provided with turnbuckles or nutsv which engage threaded portions ofthe tie members for increasing or decreasing the tension upon the corner portions. The door is usually made exible enough toiwarplslightlyto conform to the cabinet, thus maintaining at-heatvseal. -fIhe inner part of the door is closed with a thin' liner, and the liner is usually provided with azvent opening.

f' Under usage and under varying conditions; the door tends tcvwajrp and-byreasonof. the excess weight'of' the door, certain portions of-ittend to sagythus causing-fthe breaking ofV the-heat seal'withl the' cabinet. Particular difficulty is'experienced with the lowerouter corner ofthe door (away from the hinged side) "Where thetexcess Weightbf'the vdoor andsome warping thereof -tends'to cause abreaking-of' the'seal. Under 'such'conditions itis necessary 'to enterthev door by Vremoving the I liner and adjust l the' turnbuclcle vor' other means, which isl vusually located in the center of the door. The foregoing operation is expensive, time-consuming, and places the refrigerator out of use for some time during the period of repair.

An object of the present invention is to provide an extremely simple and inexpensive structure which overcomes the above ditliculties while enabling the adjustments to be made with an ordinary screwdriver and in a modicum of time. A further object is to provide a refrigerator door equipped with means providing the desired venting of the interior of the door, while at the same time utilizing the venting means for providing access at a point with in the door where quick adjustment of the tie member structure can be made. Yet another object is to provide a door structure equipped with an opening while providing means aligned with the opening to enable the tie member of the door to be adjusted for properly supporting the door. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown in an illustrative embodiment by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a rear view in elevation of a refrigerator door equipped with supporting or stiffening means, the liner of the door being removed; Fig. 2, an enlarged broken detail view showing the connection of the tie member to the door frame; Fig. 3, a broken enlarged detail view showing a vent opening and tension adjusting means embodying my invention; Fig. 4, a sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a perspective view or' a vent opening plug provided ice withv aand'Eig. 6, a perspective view of an adjustmentnutwhich may be employed.

`In theillustration given,A 10 designates a refrigerator door-.which preferably'comprises a hollow pan 11 which mayfgbe of a generally concave-convex shape, as'shownzin greateridetailA in-Drake Patent .-No. 2,432,563. .Y Such; a door is formed of exible sheet metal or other material, and is provided with supporting hinges: 12along `one lateral edge. vTottheeborder frame 13 are secured gussets Orp-platesz lpand. 15T plater 14l being -at the upper .inner cor'nertof .the door, and plate 15` being at the lower outer corner of=the door. A tie rod orA member 16 is passed throughv an opening in plate 15 to secure it to the plate and the rod* then extends diagonally across the interiortof the door and almost to the upper plate 14. Tothe upper plate i4 is secured an anchor; member 17, as shown more clearlyl in Vl-"ig: 4. .The member 17 isv preferably formed from aV painotplates 1S and 19 which'fare channeled to receivel thegrupper'threaded end 2QV of the rodz16; 'Ille plate. members .#18 and .19V may bespotweided `or otherwise secured about thechannel receiving the rod 16. AA slot 21 is formedin-.thefpiates ISf-andi9. to receive.y a nut.- 22 threadablywengagingthe threaded portion 200i the rod. The 22fis, provided with a circular ange 23, which may beprovided at spaced-intervals with. notches` 24. Witht-hisvstructure, the 'nut 22 may be rotated Vto exert greater-.or ieee-.tensionA upon-.tbev tie member 16 and cause the: threaded-portion 29 tov advance'or retract, depending upon the direction ot rotation of nut22.

.The-winner. lining .2.5i ofrthe refrigerator-is provided with a vent 26,. Whichis1 preferably. aligned withl theV mit 22. I prefer. to equipthe .vent openingwith. aclosure-plug 27, which may betslotted to Yprovide ventilationpspaces t28. I prefer to provide the plug 27 with a springy ange portion 2g adaptedlt'o be pressed into locking-engagement with the' edges loi" the liner' 25 about' thevent opening 26. The spring ang 29' permits the .plug to be inserted in position bysim'ply'pressing i't"-it1to` position, and similarly permits itsredyfremovaltfromthe lin'e 25 'when'- desired'.`

In the operation of the structure, when it is desired to increase or diminish the tension upon rod or tie member 16, the vent plug 27 may be removed and a screwdriver or other metal edge employed for rotating the nut 22 to extend the rod or tie member 16 longitudinally in one or the other direction to eiect the desired adjustment. The plug 27 may then be snapped back into position. For some adjustments, it is possible to extend a blade through the openings 28 of the grill to make the necessary change. Further, if desired, the closure 27 may be omitted and the unclosed opening of the liner employed for making the adjustment. I prefer, however, to employ a removable plug which provides the desired amount of aperture space for Ventilating the interior of the door, while at the same time providing a larger area for adjusting the nut of the tie member when the plug is withdrawn.

In the foregoing structure, it will be noted that the tie member supports the lower outer corner of the door Where the diiculty with sagging and breaking of the seal is greatest, and further accomplishes such support while providing a single adjustment point near the upper inner corner of the door. At this least exposed point, there is provided the vent opening for the adjustment of the tie member.

While in the foregoing speciiication, I have shown a single structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the details of the structure may be varied greatly by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Iclaim: t

1. ln a full covering refrigerator door structure adapted j to be hingedly supported along a vertical edge thereof for tion about an access opening, a peripheral frame, anrinner door panel secured to said frame, an outer door panel car-1 Y ried by said frame and being spaced from said inner door panel, an elongated tie member extending diagonally Y across said door structure between said inner and outer .panels and being secured adjacent its ends to said frame,

adjustable nut means operatively arranged with said tie member for adjusting the tension thereof and comprisingl to be hingedly supported along a vertical edge thereof for swinging movement into and out of a sealing closure position about an access opening, generally rectangular inner and outer door panels spaced from each other and being connected together about the `peripheral edge portion thereof, said door panels `being generally rectangular and providing corner portions, an elongated tie member ex-V tending diagonally across said door structure between said panels and being secured adjacent one end thereof to the outer lower corner portion and adjacent itsother end to the upper inner corner portion of the door structure,

said inner panel beingtprovided with an opening 'there-V through, a closure plug carried in said opening and having a plurality of elongated ventilation slots therethrough w communicating with Athe space between said panels, and a nut threadedly engaging said tie member and being arranged therewith for adjusting the tension of said tie member, said nut being equipped with a laterally extending flange in substantial alignment with the slots through said plug and said ange being oriented in a plane substantially normal to the surface of said inner panel, said ange having a plurality of spaced apart notches about the periphery thereof, whereby said nut is adjustable by manipulating a blade passed through said ventilation slots.

3. lu a refrigerator door s cture for sealingly4 closing an access opening and having-spaced apart inner and outer door panels, an elongated tie member extending diagonally across said door structure between said panels and being secured thereto adjacent its end portions,1 adjustable nut v means operatively arranged with said tiemember for adjusting the tension thereof and comprising a nut equipped with a laterally extending flange having a plurality of peripheral notches thereabout and being orientedin a plane generally normal to the surface of said inner panel, said inner panel being provided with an opening therethrough in alignment-with said nut, and a closure plug carried in said opening and having a ventilation opening therethrough adapted to receive an instrument for manipulating said nut. Y,

4. in a full covering refrigerator door structure adapted to oe hingedly supported along a vertical edge thereof for swinging movement into and out of a sealing closure position about an access opening, a pen'pheral frame, inner and outer door panels carried by said frame and vbeing spaced from each other, an elongated tie member extendingfdiagonally across said door structure between said inner and outer panels and being secured adjacent its ends to said frame, adjustable nut means comprising a notched nut operatively arranged with said tie member for adjusting the tension thereof, and a closure plug carriedby said inner vpanel in alignment with said nut and having a ventilation opening therethrough for receiving an instrument to manipulate said'nut and adjust the tension of said tie member.

Y References Cited in the le of 'this'patcnt UNITI-,3Dy STATES PATENTS 18,164 Torrey et al.Y Sept. 8, 1857 343,807 Field Iune 15, 1886 689,714 Goeller I cn Dec. 24, 1901 1,678,952 Pattinson July 31, 1928 1,923,961 Wood Aug. 22, 1933 2,336,644 Scullen Dec. 14, 1943 2,347,090 Drake Apr. 18, 1944 2,368,837 Hubacker Feb. 6,1945 2,413,597 Armstrong Dec. 1,V 1946 2,591,352 Harbison Apr. 1,1952 2,620,520 Kafer Dec. 9,1952 

